Australia’s commitment to a rules-based international order
Ensuring a free, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific region, while protecting Australia’s sovereignty
Under Prime Minister Morrison’s leadership, Australia made notable contributions to the rules-based international order. The Morrison Government focused on enhancing Australia's role in global governance, particularly by pushing back against China’s coercive actions in the Indo-Pacific.
This included strengthening Australia’s contribution to collective maritime security and monitoring China’s illegal activities in the South China Sea. Australia conducted joint air and increased maritime patrols with the United States, Canada, and Southeast Asian partners — like the Philippines — of areas illegitimately claimed by China. This led to increased illumination of China’s coercive behaviour on the world stage, such as dangerous and unfair use of military capability to protect areas falsely claimed as sovereign territory. Read more here.
Prime Minister Morrison also concentrated efforts to increase transparency over China’s actions and influence. Seeking to uncover the origins of COVID-19, Prime Minister Morrison called for an investigation focused on China (where the virus first broke out) at the World Health Organization. The Morrison Government also blocked Huawei’s bid to provide 5G network coverage in Australia, after evidence pointed to national security vulnerabilities if the state-owned Chinese company conducted the roll-out.
Support to Ukraine in response to Russia’s illegal invasion
Following Russia’s full-scale illegal invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the Morrison Government led Australia’s comprehensive response across military, humanitarian, economic, diplomatic, and refugee support. Total assistance reached approximately A$688 million (US$0.5 billion), making Australia one of the largest non-NATO contributors to Ukraine’s war effort in 2022.
Military aid formed the core of Australia’s support, valued at approximately A$510 million. This included the delivery of 40 Bushmaster armoured vehicles, M777 howitzers, M113 personnel carriers, drones, anti-armour systems, and personal equipment — largely sourced from Australian Defence Force (ADF) stockpiles. Australia also contributed nearly A$40 million to NATO and UK-managed trust funds for Ukraine’s military, and deployed 70 ADF personnel to the UK to train Ukrainian troops under Operation INTERFLEX (later Operation Kudu).
Humanitarian assistance totalled A$65 million, channelled through UN agencies and NGOs to provide emergency medical care, food, shelter, and aid for displaced civilians. Australia focused its support on direct life-saving relief rather than budget assistance to the Ukrainian government. To support Ukraine’s energy resilience, Australia also donated 70,000 tonnes of thermal coal — worth around A$30 million — sourced from Australian suppliers.
Economically, Australia removed all tariffs on Ukrainian imports for 12 months and supported efforts to sustain Ukraine’s trade capacity. Diplomatically, Australia co-sponsored key UN resolutions condemning Russia’s invasion, backed war crimes investigations, and maintained consistent advocacy through forums including the G20 and ASEAN. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to Kyiv in July 2022 reaffirmed this support, with additional aid commitments made during the visit.
Australia imposed comprehensive sanctions and trade restrictions in response to the invasion. By the end of 2022, more than 1,000 Russian and Belarusian individuals and entities had been sanctioned — including political leaders, military officials, oligarchs, banks such as Sberbank and VTB, and companies in the defence, shipping, and aerospace sectors. Canberra also imposed a 35% tariff surcharge on Russian and Belarusian imports, banned exports of strategic goods, and joined embargoes on Russian energy products, including oil and coal.
On refugee support, Australia introduced the Temporary Humanitarian Concern Visa (subclass 786), offering three-year protection with access to work, study, and Medicare. Over 5,000 visas were issued, with approximately 7,500 Ukrainians arriving in 2022. Although no dedicated permanent intake was announced, displaced Ukrainians were accommodated under Australia’s broader humanitarian programme.
Australia’s response was significant, particularly given its geographic distance and non-membership in NATO or the EU. While not on the scale of US or EU efforts, its assistance — especially military aid — was substantial in absolute terms and notable relative to GDP. The package reflected bipartisan support and a strong commitment to upholding international rules against aggression.
Among G20, Quad and Five Eyes countries, Australia distinguished itself as one of the most active non-European donors — aligning its sanctions, aid contributions and diplomatic actions closely with the US, UK, Canada and the EU.
Support to Israel at the UN
Prime Minister Morrison valued the Australia-Israel relationship — based on a shared interest in democracy, a strong economic partnership and historical people-to-people links. One of the Morrison Government’s significant decisions in favour of Israel on the world stage came in December 2018, when Prime Minister Morrison announced that Australia would recognise West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. This decision was framed within the context of supporting a two-state solution, acknowledging the aspirations of the Palestinian people for statehood with East Jerusalem as their capital.
Prime Minister Morrison consistently condemned what he described as the UN's "bullying" of Israel. In a speech at the Jerusalem Prize ceremony in November 2019, he highlighted the prevalence of anti-Semitism within UN discussions, stating that his government would not support resolutions that unfairly targeted Israel. He pointed out that there were numerous resolutions condemning Israel while few addressed the actions of terrorist organisations like Hamas.
Prime Minister Morrison also took the opportunity to reaffirm Australia's commitment to Israel and its right to exist peacefully within secure borders. He emphasised that Australia would continue to stand against anti-Semitism and support Israel in international forums. Additionally, it was noted that despite numerous motions against Israel, there had been a lack of similar condemnation directed at Hamas, which he deemed unacceptable. On 4 August 2021, the Morrison Government re-listed Hamas as a terrorist organisation under the Criminal Code.
Prime Minister Morrison also maintained strong rhetoric against Hezbollah — consistently its actions and funding to security threats in the Middle East and beyond. He advocated for international cooperation to combat terrorism and uphold democratic values. On 24 November 2021, the Morrison Government listed the entirety of Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation under the Criminal Code.
The Morrison Government directed Australia's proactive engagement with the UN and within the international society — reinforcing commitments to rules-based order, sustainable development, global health security, and regional stability. This reflected a dedication to addressing pressing global issues through multilateral cooperation, positioning Australia as a significant player on the world stage.
Related media:
1. Press release, Failure of UN General Assembly Resolution on ‘Activities of Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza’, 08 December 2018: https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42018
2. Speech, Statement on Indulgence: Aus-Israel relationship, 19 February 2019: https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42911
3. Speech, National Statement to the United Nations General Assembly, 25 September 2019: https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-42436
4. Virtual speech, Remarks to the United Nations General Assembly, 24 September 2021: https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-43591
5. Press release, Australia’s response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, 23 February 2022: https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-44162
6. Press release, Statement on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, 24 February 2022: https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-44163
7. Press release, Economic measures against Russia and lethal military equipment for Ukraine, 28 February 2022: https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-44164
8. Press release, Australian support to Ukraine, 01 March 2022: https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-44166
9. Virtual speech, Address to the Lowy Institute, 07 March 2022: https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-43838
10. Press release, Additional support for Ukraine, 20 March 2022: https://pmtranscripts.pmc.gov.au/release/transcript-44177
